Ooredoo Group has posted a net profit of QR584mn in the first quarter of this year, the telecom major said yesterday.
However, the net profit was down by 34%, Ooredoo said and noted the net profit in Q1, 2016 benefited from significant foreign exchange gains of QR380mn. Excluding the foreign exchange impact, net profit in Q1, 2017 was up by 3%.
Ooredoo said the group revenue increased to QR8bn, an improvement of 2% over Q1, 2016.
In local currency terms, growth was driven by Ooredoo Qatar, Indosat Ooredoo, Ooredoo Oman, Ooredoo Tunisia, Ooredoo Myanmar and Ooredoo Maldives.
“Excluding foreign exchange translation impact, revenues would have increased by 3% year-on-year,” Ooredoo said.
Data revenue increased to 43% of group revenue, Ooredoo said and attributed it to “continued strong data growth” from consumer and enterprise customers. Revenue from data contributed QR3.5bn in Q1, 2017.
The company’s customer base increased by 26% to reach 149mn, driven by “strong growth” across major markets.
In Qatar, the number of Ooredoo customers remained “stable” at 3.5mn.
Ooredoo “focused on maintaining and developing its position as Qatar’s data experience leader” during the first quarter. The company officially launched its ‘4.5G Pro’ network in February, becoming the first operator in the Ooredoo Group, first in the Middle East, and one of the first operators in the world to offer the breakthrough technology, which increases mobile data speeds to up to 800Mbps.
In addition, Ooredoo launched 10 Gbps fibre services in select areas of Doha in March.
Ooredoo Group chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani said, “Ooredoo increased revenue, EBITDA and strengthened its customer base to further enhance shareholder value. Revenue stood at QR8bn in Q1, 2017, up by 2% from the same period last year and EBITDA was QR3.4bn, up by 8% compared to Q1, 2016. Our strategy to optimise efficiencies across our diverse portfolio resulted in an improved Group EBITDA Margin of 43%.
“Our relentless focus on the digital strategy and delivering world-class infrastructure and innovative products is paying dividends; with a significant 26% increase in customer base we are now reaching almost 150mn customers. Another milestone in our digital strategy was the launch of our 4.5G Pro network in Qatar in February. We are one of the first operators globally to offer this cutting edge technology, which increases mobile data speeds to up to 800 Mbps.”
Ooredoo Group CEO Sheikh Saud bin Nasser al-Thani said, “Our financial performance across the group has shown improvement over the course of the past three months, driven by strong contributions from Ooredoo Qatar, Indosat Ooredoo, Ooredoo Oman and Ooredoo Maldives, resulting in a 2% increase in revenues.
“Ooredoo Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Maldives, Myanmar and Indosat Ooredoo delivered good growth in EBITDA, capitalising on group efficiencies, solid operational performance and growth in customer numbers.
“Ooredoo Qatar produced a “positive” performance in terms of revenue, up 2% and EBITDA, which increased by 9%.
“Indosat Ooredoo maintained its strong contribution to the Group, with revenue of QR2bn, up by 8% from Q1 2016, while EBITDA reached QR902mn, up by 6% compared to the same period last year.
“Ooredoo Maldives delivered another outstanding performance as revenues increased by 13% to QR113mn, while EBITDA was up by 19% reaching QR67mn, delivering strong results ahead of its IPO later this year. Data as a percentage of group revenue is now 43%, reflecting our ability to deliver highly valued data services to our customers across our best in class data networks.”
Ooredoo’s data revenue increased to account for 43% of group revenue, emanating from u201ccontinued strong data growthu201d from consumer and enterprise customers
